ASHLAND, ORE. –Jackson County Search and Rescue crews are now assisting in the runaway case of 17-year old Ashland girl Hannah Thomas-Garner, missing now for more than 4 weeks.
Search and Rescue’s efforts come on the same day community members, concerned about her whereabouts, gathered at the Ashland Police Department asking investigators to change the nature of the investigation from runaway to criminal.
“She has now missed the holiday season with her family. And 30 days later, her family has no clue what has happened to her,” readSusanne Severeid, a concerned community member.
Severeid and Amy Couture, another concerned community member, wrote a letter to the police department,with approval from Hannah’s fatherasking for the case to turn in nature.
“From the moment I saw a picture of the damaged vehicle, it was sort of like a thunder clap in my heart, I thought this looks bad,” said Couture.
Ashland Deputy Chief Tighe O’Meara says they have concrete evidence that hHnnah planned to runaway.
“We have verbal accounts from people, we have cellphone information that we’ve seen… there is substantial evidence Hannah wanted to run away and did,” O’Meara told the crowd.
O’Meara say the department reached out to Jackson County Search and Rescue on Monday.
By mid afternoon, ground crews were at Hannah’s last known location on Dead Indian Memorial Road. According to a Facebook status from the sheriff’s office, “they hiked and searched the area for several hours. Unfortunately, the team found nothing.”
Below is a copy of the letter written by community members to the police department:
Dear Chief Holderness, Sheriff Falls, and the Ashland Police Department,
As concerned local citizens and friends of Hannah Thomas Garner, we want to urge you to reclassify her case and to launch a criminal investigation into her disappearance as soon as possible. We are concerned that as each day passes, evidence could be lost and her family might never find out what has happened to their daughter.
We believe that Hannah is NOT a runaway. Yes, she left her house to attend a party, but Ashlandteenagers have been doing that for generations and they always return home. Hannah left her home that night with only her cell phone, keys, drivers license, and her vehicle. Her mother believes that she took no extra clothing or toiletries.
48 hours later, and 80 miles away, her car was found damaged and abandoned. This was Hannahs first car and her mother said that she loved it. We are very skeptical that she would have damaged and abandoned it herself.
As a community, we are very concerned that the damaged car is an indication of a dangerous accident or possible foul play. Equally concerning is that Hannahs cell phone and keys were abandoned and that the SIM card was removed from her phone. This sounds to us like the actions of someone who wanted to conceal evidence, possibly of a crime.
Hannah is a good student at Ashland High School, she was looking for a part-time job, and she had no history of running away.
Her family, who knows her best, is terrified that something has happened to her.
We worry that the rumors of a runaway scenario, put forth in the first few days after her disappearance, has caused law enforcement to overlook evidence that points toward something much more serious.
Hannah is a social girl who loves her family and her young siblings. Yet, there has been NO contact of any kind since her disappearance on November 30th. Her father investigated all of the supposed sightings of Hannah since the night of the party and has unfortunately found them all to be false and unconfirmed.
She has now missed the Christmas holidays with her family and 30 days later, her family has no clue what has happened to her.
We hope that the Ashland Police Department will consider reclassifying Hannahs case in order to pursue an aggressive investigation that will help her family find their missing child.
Respectfully,
Family, Friends, and community members concerned about the suspicious disappearance of Hannah Thomas Garner
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